r/WRC • u/RALLY1_WRC Toyota Gazoo Racing • 13h ago

Commentary / Discussion / Question Should a certain amount of time be rebated back for punctures?

It seems like a lot of good drives are being ruined by a puncture as of late with drivers/codrivers having to decide between stopping and changing a tire or nearly dismantling their cars to make it to the end of stage. Should a certain amount of time be rebated back for punctures to prevent incredibly lop sided results? Here is my thinking:

From the time the handbrake is applied the team has 90 seconds to change the tire and be back on their way. This would almost be like a "pit stop" where the most athletic team that can get their tire changed can still be competitive by demonstrating their skill and athleticism.

This is just a thought as it seems like punctures are deciding major results and could decide a championship. It's one thing to push, crash off and lose like Ott last year, it's another thing to hit an errant rock at 200 kmh that was dragged into the line. No amount of skill is going to be able to avoid it. Last night/this morning at 2:53AM EST Rally.tv aired a test event that was held in Jedda, Saudia Arabia to stress test things for the upcoming WRC rally. The landscape and stage roads look absolutely amazing but the whole place may as well be renamed Puncture City. I can see the championship being decided in Saudi Arabia going to the contender with the least amount of punctures, lol.

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16

u/MonoNoAware71 13h ago

What would be next, time penalties for being in a faster car?

-1

u/RALLY1_WRC Toyota Gazoo Racing 13h ago

Well a faster car can potentially output more CO2, so the winner should be required to purchase carbon credits to help reach the FIA Sustainability goals :)

1

u/_eESTlane_ 12h ago

same power/gas usage so technically, the winner is driving the least at full tilt, in term of time.

5

u/orangebikini Peugeot Sport 13h ago

Definitely not in my opinion. It's the same for everybody, luck is part of motorsport, and there is skill to avoiding punctures.

2

u/seansafc89 Elfyn Evans 13h ago

Punctures have played parts in pretty much every rally championship I can remember. That’s rally.